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Dozens dead in suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria

The death toll is expected to rise after a suspected chemical weapons attack in one of the last remaining rebel strongholds in Syria, eastern Ghouta. The government and its ally, Russia, have denied the reports.

The Syrian White Helmets voluntary rescue group wrote on Twitter on Sunday that a helicopter had dropped a barrel bomb filled with chemicals on the rebel-held city of Douma late on Saturday, killing at least 40 people and injuring hundreds.

"Entire families in shelters gassed to death in Douma, eastern Ghouta, hiding in their cellars, suffocated from the poisonous gas bringing the initial death toll to more than 40," the organization said.

The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM) meanwhile said that the death toll was expected to rise to "well over 100." UOSSM also reported that the attack had injured over 500 in eastern Ghouta.

After the alleged attack, Russian-backed government forces have reportedly pressed ahead with their military offensive to retake what is the last opposition pocket near the capital, Damascus. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said fresh airstrikes were continuing to hit parts of eastern Ghouta on Sunday, despite reports saying the fighters had struck a ceasefire deal with Syrian regime ally Russia.

The SOHR is monitoring the Syrian conflict through a network of activists on the ground.

Mixed numbers

The medical relief organization Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) meanwhile also said that a chlorine bomb hit Douma hospital, killing six people, and that a second attack with "mixed agents" including nerve agents had hit a building nearby.

Basel Termanini, the US-based vice president of SAMS, told the news agency Reuters the total death toll in the chemical attacks was 35.

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Rebel fighters leave Ghouta

Rebel fighters are leaving Eastern Ghouta

Damuscus, Russia deny guilt

The official Syrian news agency SANA rejected the reports.

"Some media outlets, known for their support to the terrorists, claimed that the army used chemical weapons in the city of Douma during its military operations in response to the attacks carried out by the terrorist organization on several Damascus neighborhoods and its surroundings," SANA said.

Russia has also rejected the claims that Syrian government forces used chemical weapons in the Douma assault.

The chairman of the international affairs committee of Russia's upper house of parliament, Konstantin Kosachev, said on Sunday that the reports were bogus. He added that Washington was attempting to "impede the offensive by Syrian government forces" by claiming their use of such weapons.

SOHR director Rami Abdulrahman said he could not confirm if chemical weapons had been used.

But SOHR did confirm that 80 civilians were killed on Saturday in Douma, having suffocated in the smoke caused by dropping conventional weapons.

The US State Department said on Saturday evening it was monitoring the situation and that Russia should be blamed if chemicals had been used.

"The regime's history of using chemical weapons against its own people in not in dispute," a State Department official said in a statement, referring to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Assault on eastern Ghouta, Syria in pictures

Enclave under siege

More than 1,500 people have been killed since Syrian government troops backed by Russia launched a ferocious attack on eastern Ghouta on February 18. Airstrikes have reduced much of the area near Damascus to ruins. According to the UN, there were an estimated 400,000 people trapped inside the besieged enclave without access to food and water when the offensive began.

Assault on eastern Ghouta, Syria in pictures

'Hell on earth'

The town of Douma, with its 200,000 residents, is now the only remaining Ghouta pocket still under rebel control. The full recapture of eastern Ghouta would mark a significant victory for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Referring to the month-long assault on the enclave, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres demanded "this hell on earth" be stopped immediately.

Assault on eastern Ghouta, Syria in pictures

Reports of chemical attack

According to activists and doctors in the region, several people have suffered symptoms consistent with those triggered by a chlorine gas attack and had to be treated in hospital. French President Emmanuel Macron has warned the Syrian regime that the use of chemical weapons will result in French retaliation, but the Syrian government claims it has never used this kind of munition.

Assault on eastern Ghouta, Syria in pictures

300,000 killed

A man and child look at the remains of a missile in Douma, the largest in eastern Ghouta. More than 300,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in 2011, when the government cracked down on protesters who were calling for the release of political prisoners and for President Assad to step down.

Assault on eastern Ghouta, Syria in pictures

'Rapid spread of malnutrition'

Activists say people in Douma have little food or water. Marten Mylius, the emergency relief coordinator for CARE in the Middle East, told DW that "after the tunnels were destroyed and the crossings closed, the price of basic foods skyrocketed. One kilo of rice now costs $4.50 (€3.66). A lot of people cannot afford that anymore. In other words, we are witnessing a rapid spread of malnutrition."

Assault on eastern Ghouta, Syria in pictures

At the mercy of the regime

Aid access to eastern Ghouta is difficult because there is no direct route from neighboring countries. "In Idlib, for example...you can get in directly from the Turkish border. You can wait with supplies at the border and then bring in the convoy. It is much more difficult in eastern Ghouta," Mylius told DW.